Sora
Sora (ソラ) is the protagonist of the ''Kingdom Hearts'' video game series. He is a teenager who originates from the Destiny Islands but obtains the Keyblade, a weapon used to fight creatures known as the Heartless. In order to find the King Mickey, Donald Duck, and Goofy recruit him in their journey across various worlds to save them from darkness, as well as find Sora's friends. Throughout the games, Sora journeys throughout worlds, interacting with various Disney characters and gains experience with the Keyblade as well as his growth as its wielder. Background Development Sora was designed by Tetsuya Nomura as the protagonist of Kingdom Hearts. However, he was not originally slated to be the protagonist, as Disney wanted Donald Duck to be the protagonist of the game, while Square wanted to have Mickey Mouse as the protagonist. Nomura wanted neither as the protagonist of the game, and went on to design his own protagonist with the concepts of the Disney characters in mind, which resulted in the creation of Sora. Sora originally wielded a weapon resembling a chainsaw; however, the weapon was not well received by Disney which led Nomura to redesign the weapon into a Keyblade. Sora's original outfit in Kingdom Hearts was also designed with Mickey Mouse in mind with Mickey Mouse's trademark white gloves, red shorts and giant yellow shoes due to Square's original preference to have Mickey as the main character of the game. The tail was removed because the staff found his design to be similar to the one of the Final Fantasy IX protagonist Zidane Tribal who also had a tail. After a talk with the Disney staff, the design was further reworked, and Nomura finished it after a night's worth of work. One of the main concepts of Sora's character in the series is that, according to Nomura, he is a normal boy instead of a supernatural being even though he is deeply connected with other characters from the series. With Sora, Nomura wants to give players the message that even though they are not important people, they can have the opportunity to accomplish notable actions. This was emphasized in Birth by Sleep, Nomura thought that Ventus would actually be Sora before being reborn, but due to overseas opinions, such portrayal was discarded. Nomura has stated that Sora's name can be interpreted as "sky" as his name, means sky in Japanese and was also chosen by Nomura to symbolize his role as well as personality in the story. Personality Sora is a brave and heroic boy who is extremely loyal to his friends, valuing his friendship with them above all else. He is an optimist and has a strong sense of justice, enabling him to take charge of his group when no one else can. However, he is rather oblivious at times, and is often quick to anger whenever he's confused, and is quite childish at times. He is also quite impulsive, as he tends to jump into things without thinking them through beforehand. In addition, a recurring trait Sora possesses is competitiveness, which has often pitted him against fights with those stronger than him, to the point this has grown to a level of arrogance witnessed in Dream Drop Distance when Sora claims that he is already unbeatable even after the threat of Xehanort has been explained to him. When Sora is captured and nearly converted into a pawn of Xehanort, Sora remembers his humility and learns of his limits that he humbly accepts his failure of the exam. Despite his flaws, Sora is dedicated and kind, making up for his weaknesses with his benevolent and endearing personality. As such, his ability to forgive is incredible along with his ability to connect to others and quickly befriend them. As the series progresses, Sora learns from his past mistakes and becomes less selfish over time as he learns how powerful the heart can be and fight with this in mind. Category:Kingdom Hearts Category:Males Category:Heroes